Ed Smith Stadium

Location
Ed Smith Stadium is the main attraction at the City of Sarasota Sports Complex, a 53-acre facility that is diagonally opposite the street from the Nick Lucas Baseball Complex, the county's primary youth baseball facility whose address is 2801 12th Street. The big league stadium's address is sometimes listed as the intersections of two roads (12th Street and Tuttle Avenue) but its official mailing address is 2700 12th Street, which is the home plate box office.

Directions

Traveling from the North:
Take I-75 South to exit 213 (University Parkway) and go west on University to Tuttle Ave. Turn left onto Tuttle and the stadium is located at the intersection of Tuttle and 12th St.

Traveling from the South:
Take I-75 North to exit 210 (Fruitville Road) and travel west on Fruitville to Tuttle Ave. Turn right onto Tuttle and the stadium is located at the intersection of Tuttle and 12th St.

Parking
There is a small paved/grass lot behind left field, but the large grass field across from the ballpark on 12th Street is where most fans end up. Neither option is wallet friendly. In the past you could save more than a few bucks by parking in a field that belonged to a private business on Euclid Avenue, but in 2011 the county told them they couldn't undercut the official lot price. Still, you're better off parking in the unofficial field, which offers far quicker entry and exiting than the equally overpriced official parking lots that are east and north of the stadium.
Cost: $12

Stadium Information
Ed Smith Stadium was in need of an extreme makeover and fortunately it got one, to the tune of $31.2 million, between the end of the Grapefruit League season in 2010 and the beginning of spring training in 2011. In an eight month period all that was bland about the stadium was enhanced, and many of the amenities it had always lacked were added. So the winter home of the Orioles now feels homey, which is what the team anticipated when Sarasota County officials were able to lure them to town from Fort Lauderdale by promising to fully fund the upgrades to the two decades-old stadium, a process that was scheduled to begin in April 2010 but was held up for two months due to a lawsuit filed by a pair of citizens groups who believed that open meeting and public records laws were not adhered to when a deal was struck between the county and Orioles in the summer of 2009. A judge ruled against the disgruntled citizens on July 8, 2010, and since then Sarasota's stadium's facade has been redone in a Mediterranean style, a second-story concourse was built on top of the street level one, the bullpens were moved, all seats were replaced (and more were added) in the grandstand and a new pavilion section was added in left field. The seat additions and construction of three first base-side suites increased the capacity of the place by a thousand folks, so 8,500 can now fit into a stadium that was quite uninspiring and increasingly weather-beaten during the Cincinnati Reds' tenure in it from 1998 to 2009. Having signed a 30-year lease with Sarasota County, who owns the refurbished stadium after the City of Sarasota owned the original, the Orioles are town for a much longer haul than the Reds were at the stadium that has always been named after Ed Smith, a long-time member and president of the Sarasota Sports Committee who passed away during spring training in 2006.

Fast Facts

Fans have two options for entering the ballpark. Many use the left field entrance gate, which is adjacent to one of the park's two ticket booths. The other booth is near the main entrance gate, which is directly behind home plate.

All Will Call windows are at the home plate box office.

There are two concourses. The lower level one is behind the stadium and completely covered. The second-story concourse is partially covered and allows for unobstructed views of the field.

The bullpens are down the outfield lines - the Orioles' in right, visitors' in left - and fans can stand on the concourse behind each.

The stadium's only scoreboard is in right-center field and is a double-decker, with the large high-definition video screen on top of the traditional line score board.

An air-conditioned walk-in team shop is near the home plate gate. It's simply referred to as the Orioles Team Store.

Practice Fields

Four practice fields are directly behind the stadium's outfield wall. Simply numbered 1 through 4, the fields are where the Orioles train prior to the beginning of their spring training game schedule.

Since 1991, the Orioles' minor leaguers have trained and played their games in Sarasota's Twin Lakes Park at the Buck O'Neil Baseball Complex, which is 11 miles south of Ed Smith Stadium. To get to the complex, take I-75 to Exit 205 (Clark Rd/SR 72) and travel east for just under a mile to Twin Lakes Park, which is found on the right side of the highway at 6700 Clark Road.

Types of Seating
All of the green seats in the grandstand were originally in Baltimore's Camden Yards and have cup holders, unlike the weathered and original blue seats they replaced. Included among the 7,428 actual seats in the stadium are the countertop and drink rail seats that are found in the new for 2011 pavilion in left field.

Stadium seats: All sections except for those in the Left Field Pavilion (sections 127-129)

Bleachers: none

Berm: none

Notes about the seating

The Orioles dugout is on the first base side. To make sure you're on the home side of the stadium, buy your tickets in sections 101-112 or 201-212.

An aisle divides the grandstand into two sections. Box seats (100-level sections) are below the aisle and Reserved seats (200-level sections) are above it.

Handicap accessible seating is found in spaces on the aisle behind sections 111-115, in dedicated areas atop sections 101, 125, 210, 212 & 216, and at field level in front of sections 101 and 125.

Protective netting continuously spans the entire grandstand, so sections 101-125 are all behind the safety net. However, the extra rope supports used to hold up the screen in front of some sections can be distracting for fans, with those sitting in sections 101-106 and 120-125 having to deal with the distraction the ropes cause. Netting that spans the dugouts is free of any additional supports and is thus the best part of the screen to sit behind; the dugout sections are 107-110 and 116-119.

The stadium has plenty of standing room space at and above field level, specifically behind the bullpens and left field pavilion, and also on the concourse above the Reserved Grandstand seats, where drink rails are placed behind the last row of most sections.

Ushers are restrictive only when fans attempt to sit in the box seats behind home plate.

Sections and rows

Rows for sections with stadium seats range as follows:
1 to 8 in section 101; 1 to 12 in sections 102-106; 6 to 12 in sections 107-110; 1 to 9 in sections 111-115; 6 to 12 in sections 116-119; 1 to 12 in sections 120-124; 4 to 8 in section 125; 1 to 16 in sections 201, 203, 205 & 207; 1 to 13 in section 209; 1 to 16 in sections 210-211; 1 to 10 in sections 212-214; 1 to 16 in sections 215-216; 1 to 13 in section 217; 1 to 16 in sections 219, 221, 223 & 225

There are no sections 202, 204, 206, 208, 218, 220, 222 or 224.

In the Left Field Pavilion, sections 127 and 129 are made up of 5 rows of drink rail seating that are numbered 1 to 5. Section 128 has 26 bistro tables spread out over four tiers plus a back row (#5) of drink rail seating.

Tickets

Sections 101-104 and 122-125 are sold as Lower Box.

Sections 105-121 are sold as Infield Box.

The first three rows in sections 111-115 are sold as Premium Infield Box.

Sections 127-129 are sold as Left Field Pavilion.

Sections 201-225 are sold as Reserved Grandstand.

Children ages 2 and under do not need a ticket.

Seats under cover and in the shade
A roof is overhead the upper rows (9 & up) of every reserved section except 201, 212-214 and 225. At the start of afternoon games the sun is behind the first base side of the grandstand and rows that are shaded are: 7 & up in sections 203-211 and 9 & up in sections 215-223. As the afternoon progresses all Reserved Grandstand seats on the first base side of the stadium become shaded while there is no change in shaded seats on the stadium's third base side.

VIP seating
Three suites along the first base line can hold 20 people apiece and each is themed after the Orioles' world championship teams, hence the names Suite 66, Suite 70 and Suite 83. A bigger suite is found next to the press box. It has a capacity of 40 and is named for its location (Home Plate Suite). The third base side of the ballpark is home to the aptly named Third Base Lounge, which is fronted by stadium seating and has an indoor gathering space with a full service bar. Within the grandstand, the front rows of seats in the five sections between the dugouts are sold as Premium Infield Box. The Bullpen Perches are available for pre-game picnics. Each area can hold parties of 20 to 200 fans and traditional ballpark menu items are served to the groups that book the picnic places that are found alongside and above the bullpens down the outfield lines.

Strollers are permitted but discouraged, as you have to fold them up and keep the stroller clear of aisles and walkways, which isn't an easy thing to do.

Getting autographs
The Orioles' clubhouse is behind right field and players will usually sign for fans on their way to it following the game in the same first baseline box sections (101-106) where they sign before games. The visiting team's bus is parked behind the left-center field wall and if you're lucky a couple of players will sign on their way to it following the game, although they are more likely to sign for fans before the game in the sections closest to their dugout and bullpen.

Unique ballpark fare
Great grub abounds on the grounds of Ed Smith Stadium. At the sit down Café 54 that's aside the home plate entrance a few sandwiches, wraps and paninis are served. The stand behind the Left Field Pavilion is where to go to get a bison burger, pit beef or skirt steak sandwich, and a brat w/kraut. Grills at the 1st Base Patio cook up the old standbys. There, and everywhere else, Baltimore's very own Esskay hot dogs are featured. Another regional delicacy, the crab cake sandwich, further compliments Sarasota's impressive concession fare and can be found at many of the Birdland Concessions spread along the main concourse. On the third base side of that concourse are a couple of draft beer dispensaries that serve up the likes of Woodchuck Amber Cider, Stella Artois and #9, an ale from the Magic Hat Brewing Company. Budweiser products are on tap on the first base side of the stadium. Throughout the stadium, all soft drinks that are poured are from the Coca-Cola family.

Ballpark Area Info
The immediate area around the stadium contains mostly a mix of residential and commercial enterprises. Downtown Sarasota is on the waterfront and only about two miles away from Ed Smith Stadium. That's where the prestigious Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall and the noted Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium are found. Both places of cultural distinction contribute to Sarasota's reputation as a First Class city, one that can legitimately lay claim to being the Grapefruit League's finest destination. Home to many celebrities, great beaches and beautiful scenery, there's plenty to do and plenty to enjoy, all a short drive from the stadium.

Travelers' notes

The closest Interstate is about five miles away (I-75).

There are plenty of inexpensive boutique hotels on nearby North Tamiami Trail (Highway 41).